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Sowbugs and Pillbugs
- Look like tiny "armadillos"! -
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Summary: Normally these small crustaceans don't harm anything in the garden. Occasionally, however, the populations may grow and damage seedlings. At these times steps should be taken to protect young plants. They can also sometimes enter homes to escape flooding, or in search of water when it is dry.
Jack DeAngelis, PhD
OSU Ext. Entomologist (ret.)
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What are sowbugs, pillbugs, or woodlice?
 Sowbugs, pillbugs, or woodlice [more pictures] are small land crustaceans, actually related to shrimp, that are common in gardens. They are roughly a 1/4" long, gray to brown in color, have many pairs of legs and a segmented body, and are often found in groups under rocks or debris where the soil is damp. Pillbugs roll into a ball when disturbed; sowbugs do not roll up this way but otherwise they are very similar.
Sowbugs and pillbugs normally don't harm garden plants. They feed mostly on dead organic debris but occasionally may damage young garden plants. Two situations occur that cause gardeners and homeowners some concern.
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Sowbugs and pillbugs are found in moist habitats under rocks and debris. Photo by E. DeAngelis.
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Sometimes tender, young garden seedlings are damaged, similar to slug damage. This plant damage only occurs when very high populations of these critters are allowed to develop and when very young plants are present. Plant injury is pretty rare and can usually be easily managed.
The second way sowbugs and pillbugs cause problems is when they enter houses following rains when outside soils become saturated, or in search of water when it is extremely dry outside. Sowbugs found indoors, however, won't cause any damage and can be simply swept up.
other common names: woodlice (wood louse), lawn shrimp, rollie-pollie (pillbug), rolly-polly, tumblebug, doodlebug
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Control
In one sense high numbers of these critters is a good thing-- it means that your garden soils are rich in organic matter and healthy. You can reduce the populations, however, by reducing the amount of organic matter, such as compost, that you add to the garden and by cutting back on the frequency of watering. If the soil is allowed to go through natural dry/wet cycle sowbug and pillbug numbers will be reduced.
Gardeners can use diatomaceous earth (see Using Diatomaceous Earth for Pest Control) to manage sowbug and pillbug damage to young seedlings. Place a thin layer of this natural product directly over the seed bed. There is also a new formulation of Sluggo slug bait that contains spinosad, a natural insecticide that can be used to safely manage earwigs and sowbugs/pillbugs in the garden (see Using Slug Baits).
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Mission: To provide accurate, up-to-date and unbiased information for solving common insect and mite problems around your home, business and landscape using least-toxic methods.
Jack DeAngelis, Ph.D.
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Copyright © 2004-... LivingWithBugs, LLC. All rights reserved. Page Updated: 1/6/2010
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